What’s wrong with purposely causing the extinction of animals?

Now stay with me on this one……I’m not talking about a mass culling of pets or going around with a gun to lions, tigers and bears …..oh my……I’m talking about insects and creepy crawlies that are just annoying and irritating…what’s the point in keeping around spiders and ants…? (spiders are good for getting rid of pesky insects…) Well…correct me if I’m wrong….but if we get rid of those pesky insects….there wont be need for spiders….the same goes for snakes…It’s not like we actually need them or anything….I mean jeezz…..do you know how many creatures become extinct every week….every year……

I’m not being cold hearted….I just see it as common sense…why keep them around if they’re just going to bite you and kill you…..just imagine how much that little bit safer our lives would be if you could go to sleep knowing nothing’s going to get you…that safe happy feeling….wouldn’t you like that….hell….you could go out into the countryside with no fear of snakes and such…..that would be nice….ay...

I'm assuming that you are trying to be funny as the answer is pretty obvious...we are not the only creatures on this earth and even though we feel we have no use for these insects/creepy crawlies, they are an essential part of the food chain. Without all the little creepy crawlies (including snakes and spiders) the earth would die. Simple really.

I don't think you're looking at the 'big picture' of things. Sure these things are annoying, but they're all part of a finely tuned system that helps to keep everything running. When a bird drops of a branch for instance, dead, all those little insects and maggots and other assorted creepy crawlies come to clean it up. If there were no snakes, we'd get overrun with rats, mice and other various things.

Going to the countryside with no fear of snakes?? If you don't disturb them, they won't disturb you. We once had a carpet python find its way onto the roof once. Some wildlife guys came and got it down, it was an escaped pet. It was smooth to touch, had a good temperament, and didn't at all seem like it wanted to bite anyone (but it was a non-venomous snake, so its not say you'd want to make friends with a copper head for instance).

In short, these things are needed and we have to coexist with them. If you want to get rid of something, get rid of the wild cats, cane toads and introduced stuff.

When a bird drops of a branch for instance, dead, all those little insects and maggots and other assorted creepy crawlies come to clean it up.

Yeah...it's called decomposing.....look it up sometime.....if it dies in the wilderness....then it will get eaten by some kind of predator....or if it dies in the streets....it'll just get cleaned up......Do you know how long it takes for maggots and such to completely eat say.....a rat...weeks....it makes no real difference whether insects exist or not...

If there were no snakes, we'd get overrun with rats, mice and other various things.

Logic please....you kill off the rats.....no need for snakes.....etc...

Going to the countryside with no fear of snakes?? If you don't disturb them, they won't disturb you. We once had a carpet python find its way onto the roof once. Some wildlife guys came and got it down, it was an escaped pet. It was smooth to touch, had a good temperament, and didn't at all seem like it wanted to bite anyone (but it was a non-venomous snake, so its not say you'd want to make friends with a copper head for instance).

Yeah and what about every other Joe in the world that does get bitten by them....it's simply just one less problem for us to think about...Look at the rate in which creatures on this planet are already becoming extinct because of us….it’s just one more for the pile…





[edit on 16-1-2008 by andre18]

Maybe you should move to the Arctic circle.

I'm well aware of decomposition. But what would you rather, smelly animal corpses lying around breeding disease, or having them cleaned up?

In any case, while you're exterminating the snakes to save us from the grave threat, please find a cure for cancer, stop terrorism, bring world peace, prevent car accidents, cure obesity...

[edit on 16-1-2008 by mattguy404]

I'm well aware of decomposition. But what would you rather, smelly animal corpses lying around breeding disease, or having them cleaned up?

What part of "it takes weeks for maggots to completely eat a rat don't you understand.....? It literally will stink either way....whether it's full of bugs or not..

In any case, while you're exterminating the snakes to save us from the grave threat, please find a cure for cancer, stop terrorism, bring world peace, prevent car accidents, cure obesity...

I’m just bringing up one solution…..do you always have to go to the extremity of things….world poverty….terrorism etc….this is just one idea…..simple and effective….moral? well who honestly gives a (……) about bugs….truth be told….

[edit on 16-1-2008 by andre18]

I haven't gone to extremes at all. If you look at that chart, you would be able to deduce that far more people die from the few things that I mentioned when compared to snake bites.

I think you've been watching this episode of The Simpsons one too many times.

Without insects, birds would die and bees woud no longer pollinate and plants would disappear. Without insects, we would starve.

Everything is connected in this world... breaking the chain would be catastrophic.

www.usyd.edu.au...

Look …..that’s about 3,000 per year….that’s 3,000 people who didn’t have to be bitten in the first place if they had already been killed off…and that’s only in Australia….think about the total number in the entire world…..

Look at these things…..do we really need them..?

www.usyd.edu.au...

www.xs4all.nl...

Originally posted by andre18

Now stay with me on this one……I’m not talking about a mass culling of pets or going around with a gun to lions, tigers and bears …..oh my……I’m talking about insects and creepy crawlies that are just annoying and irritating…what’s the point in keeping around spiders and ants…? (spiders are good for getting rid of pesky insects…) Well…correct me if I’m wrong….but if we get rid of those pesky insects….there wont be need for spiders….the same goes for snakes…It’s not like we actually need them or anything….I mean jeezz…..do you know how many creatures become extinct every week….every year……

I’m not being cold hearted….I just see it as common sense…why keep them around if they’re just going to bite you and kill you…..just imagine how much that little bit safer our lives would be if you could go to sleep knowing nothing’s going to get you…that safe happy feeling….wouldn’t you like that….hell….you could go out into the countryside with no fear of snakes and such…..that would be nice….ay...

As mentioned before in this thread, they all belong to an important ecosystem that has existed on earth for millions of years. A system that is being destroyed by the very presence of careless modern day humans such as yourself.

So basically what it boils down to is - these creatures you wish eradicated have more of a right to exist on this planet than you do.

Oh and one more thing......sort......your.....grammar......out.

Thanks for that last link, that's some awesome pictures of those spiders. I'm from Australia as well, so I know what we have here.

I don't think I'm able to understand your point of view. I'm the type of person that catches spiders and centipedes and puts them back outside.

It is terrible that people are bitten by snakes. I'm not sure what wiping out an entire species will accomplish though.

It seems like a very odd, skewed view of things.

Look at it this way:

We kill the ants, some birds die that would normally eat these ants. Some animals would die that normally eat the birds. Then we kill the spiders off, more birds would die that would normally eat those and so on. If we kill the snakes off then many eagles and hawks would die that normally eat them, our world would then be taken over by rodents that are normally eaten by snakes and hawks and eagles. If we kill all the bees we will be killing ourselves, nothing would get pollinated and so on. Each living creature depends on another creature to keep us going.

Hilda

reply to post by mattguy404


Well I’m the kind of person that sees one and kills it with a book or something…… and i'm sure most people on ATS would do the same.

Why carefully place it outside the back or front yard when it could just as likely come back….. No joke…there was just a spider about a minute ago on the wall where I’m sitting…(in my room)….and so yeah I got a hard book and killed the SOB….

Now….you said you also live in Australia….k….so you must know the mass fly population we’ve got here in Melbourne….If you’ve been to Melbourne….or already live there…..what ev…..Imagine a nice summer day with no irritable flies around....hmmm

Now…..I’ve also thought about this whole ecosystem thing too…..don’t worry ..the human race can survive without a few deadly snakes and spiders...



[edit on 16-1-2008 by andre18]

I feel sorry for you man, I really do. I don't think you'll find the ego boost you're looking for here.

Seriously folks.... you can't honestly believe the OP. This is a cry for attention.

reply to post by Karlhungis


Yep, it took the rest of you to spot it, but you finally nailed it Karl, as usual

Clearly an attempt at gaining some attention...

Why would one want or agree to knowingly causing the "extinction of animals", as the OP put it ?

Nothing the OP has said in this thread makes the slightest amount of sense...

You know the saying guys, if you ignore pain, it will eventually go away...

Peace

EDIT -- spelling

[edit on 16-1-2008 by Rilence]

reply to post by Karlhungis


Hay hay…this is completely logical…..I’ve thought of something I expected might be of interest to the people of ATS….which it is…..think about how much better our loves would be without these pests….and you know what….I’m going to go a step further…mice are just as pesky ..rats and all… Just think of the over populations of mice that outbreak….now I’m sure we can do with that….

www.pestcontrolcompany.in...

Someone please convince me…show me….how animals can help us in anyway….blind seeing eye dogs……ok that’s one…..pets like birds and gold fish, cats etc for comport.. children like pets etc…. But that’s really it…..what can spiders and snakes help us with…..why do we even need them…

As I’ve said before……we are literally causing the extinction of creatures on this planet every single day…..so what’s a few more…that we could actually do with out…

[edit on 16-1-2008 by andre18]

reply to post by andre18

Apparently you've never heard of the food chain. The nice stuff higher up on the ladder eats that creepy crawly stuff. Everything has a purpose.

Kudos to KarlH. That troll pic is absolutely disgusting.

[edit on 1/16/2008 by Anatomic Bomb]

Sure, the flies are horrible in Melbourne. I could also do without the Mosquitoes, for that matter. Or the sharks. Or absolutely anything else that poses the slightest risk to me of hurting me in any way.
But removing any one of the thousands of species that pose a threat - or annoyance - to humans and you will start a negative chain reaction that will rip the incredibly delicate ecosystem of this planet apart. Just scroll up to read numerous examples. Once bees go (with those nasty stingy things!) plants start to go. Give it a few years, then suddenly you'll notice that grass and absolutely everything that grows out of the ground has disappeared. What will cows eat?

The human diet depends approximately 99% on non-artificial food, i.e. vegetables, meat, and so on. The entire cycle of agriculture that grows and supplies that food will immeadetly break down if the Earths ecosystem breaks down.
So if you go and eliminate, say, the common blowfly, then later on down the track there won't even be a single person to think 'oh, isn't it nice there are no blowflies.' But considering the effect humans are having on the planet right now, I think all you will have to do is wait for your annoyances to go away:

Holocene Extinction Event
The rate of species extinctions at present is estimated at 100 to 1000 times "background" or average extinction rates in the evolutionary time scale of planet Earth.

But the thing is, we cannot do without these creatures. Big or small, they all contribute towards the wellbeing of this planet, regardless of whether you see it that way or not. We will die without them.

I'm finding it hard to believe that a fellow Aussie, and a Victorian at that, could be so silly as to seriously believe something like this. I'm hoping this is just a grab for attention.

reply to post by Anatomic Bomb


Ok so what about all the creatures that have already been ‘accidentally’ killed off by us…we’re still living and breathing…….our society is thriving…it’s not like you hear on the local news…. “three types of insects have recently been extinct” our entire way of life is now over….though there is 6.7 billion people on the planet…some how we will all die very soon….because of these three insects….”

The Mosquito…The African Bee and Bull Ants…..


[edit on 16-1-2008 by andre18]